Kitty was stalked, raped and killed by Winston Moseley in a prolonged knife attack in New York in 1964 while neighbors failed to act on her desperate cries for help — a nightmarish tableau that came to symbolize urban apathy in America.

“For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens. Twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead.”

“I didn’t want to get involved,” a witness said, using a phrase that was thought to encapsulate the age.

Title: “For Kitty”

Size: 11″ x 14″

Medium: Oil on wood panel

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

Winston Moseley, who stalked, raped and killed Kitty Genovese in a prolonged knife attack in New York in 1964 while neighbors failed to act on her desperate cries for help — a nightmarish tableau that came to symbolize urban apathy in America.

While at Attica Correctional Facility, in 1968, he escaped while on a hospital visit to Buffalo, raped a woman and held hostages at gunpoint before being recaptured. A psychopathic serial killer and necrophiliac, he died on March 28, 2016 at the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. He had been imprisoned for almost 52 years, since July 7, 1964.

This piece is another from my ongoing series – The “Hunters and The Hunted” artworks designed to call attention to the ongoing physical and mental abuse towards women in our society.

Title: “A Hunter, Winston Moseley”

Size: 7″ x 9″

Medium: Scratchboard

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

On one of my hikes in the Point Reyes area, I came across this great dangerous looking and beautiful plant, full of spikes and webs. It is a wonderfully weird plant commonly called “cobweb thistle”, a California native. It’s spiny blooms are laced with fibers resembling cobwebs.

Title: “Cobwebby Thistle”
(Cirsium occidentale)

Size: 19″ x 35″

Medium: Gouache on wood, varnished

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

This piece was inspired by the depression and disappointment I felt after the recent electons here in America. That our “democratic” country would elect such an ignorant, sexist, greedy, and racist man was extremely disillusioning. Trump is such a blustering bully and lacks the wisdom, experience or maturity needed to perform the task of a presidential leader.

At the same time the sad but wonderful Gil Scott-Heron song, “Winter In America” kept echoing in my head…

Title: “Winter In America”

Size: 16″ x 20″

Medium: Gouache on wood panel

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified. I am also available to hire for illustrations or commissioned portraits.

This is another palm tree painting… I’ve done a number of them over the years and maybe because they remind of Hawaii, they are my favorite trees. I had a bit of fun abstracting this one within the background of the lights of a small town.

Title: “Abstract Palm Tree”

Size: 20″ x 20″

Medium: Mixed media on canvas

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified. I am also available to hire for illustrations or commissioned portraits.

As a youngster, the original Addams Family was one of my favorite shows on TV – I wanted to grow up to be the beautiful Morticia all sleek in her spider dress and darkly sarcastic. When they made the newer movie with Christina Ricci cast as Wednesday, I thought she nailed the part as no one else could have. And she has such great character to her face with that long forehead and those round deep eyes, that she begged to be painted.

Title: “Wednesday of the Dead”

Size: 9″ x 12″

Medium: Gouache on wood, varnished

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified. I am also available to hire for illustrations or commissioned portraits.

Every time I visit the woods near my home in Northern California, I am inspired to paint a little something… Our last visit to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve was no exception. There were many incredible gnarled redwood tree stumps, ages old and covered with history and moss – so lovely that maybe a whole “Stump Series” of watercolors will follow.

Title: “Redwood Stump”

Size: 9″ x 12″

Medium: Gouache on Arches paper

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified. I am also available to hire for illustrations or commissioned portraits.

Recently I was commissioned to do a “Day Of The Dead” family portrait and I couldn’t have enjoyed painting these beautiful beings anymore than I did. I love working on commissioned portraits – it brings me back into contact with everyday humanity.

Title: A Day of the Dead Family

Sizes: 20″ x 27″

Medium: Oil on wood

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If you would like to commission me to paint a friend or family member, please email me – pmitchellz@yahoo.com – for info.

They are David Bowie’s unusual eyes, transposed on flowers – a carnation (which is Bowie’s birth flower for the month of January) and a gardenia (which is his wife Iman’s favorite flower.)

The carnation symbolizes love, fascination and distinction.

In an interview Iman shared, “I did not want to get involved with a rock star. No way. It is not a sane thing to do, but David changed my mind. He wooed me.” Shortly after their first meeting, Iman traveled to Paris. When she arrived at her hotel room, it was filled with her favorite flower, gardenias, with a card from David.

Feeling a little of the red, white and blue inspiration on this one, for the 4th of July.

I am not much of a nationalist or one to expound patriotism, these concepts seem only to divide people, much like harping on different races. We are all one and should embrace ways to unity. The pensive expression on my girl and the way she looks off to the side in thought – may imply she is not so happy with the state of America lately and hopes for a better future.

However, I do love Tom Petty, fireworks, barbecues and the festive colors of flags.

“Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn’t help thinkin’ that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else…”

Title: “An American Girl”

Size: 9″ x 12″

Medium: Gouache on wood, varnished

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

This is an homage to Sylvia Plath, her poetry, her life and her novel – The Bell Jar.

The following excerpts from SparkNotes, expound nicely on the tale and the symbolism:

“It tells the story of a young woman’s coming-of-age, but it does not follow the usual trajectory of adolescent development into adulthood. Instead of undergoing a progressive education in the ways of the world, culminating in an entrance into adulthood, Esther regresses into madness. Experiences intended to be life-changing in a positive sense—Esther’s first time in New York City, her first marriage proposal, her success in college—are upsetting and disorienting to her. Instead of finding new meaning in living, Esther wants to die. As she slowly recovers from her suicide attempt, she aspires simply to survive.

Esther observes a gap between what society says she should experience and what she does experience, and this gap intensifies her madness. Society expects women of Esther’s age and station to act cheerful, flexible, and confident, and Esther feels she must repress her natural gloom, cynicism, and dark humor. She feels she cannot discuss or think about the dark spots in life that plague her: personal failure, suffering, and death. She knows the world of fashion she inhabits in New York should make her feel glamorous and happy, but she finds it filled with poison, drunkenness, and violence. Her relationships with men are supposed to be romantic and meaningful, but they are marked by misunderstanding, distrust, and brutality. Esther almost continuously feels that her reactions are wrong, or that she is the only one to view the world as she does, and eventually she begins to feel a sense of unreality. This sense of unreality grows until it becomes unbearable, and attempted suicide and madness follow.”

The bell jar is an inverted glass jar, generally used to display an object of scientific curiosity, contain a certain kind of gas, or maintain a vacuum. For Esther, the bell jar symbolizes madness. The beating heart symbolizes this bodily desire for life. When she tries to drown herself, her heart beats, “I am I am I am.” The tulip/eyes are inspired by her poem “Tulips”, here.

Title: “The Bell Jar”

Size: 9″ x 12″

Medium: Clayboard or scratchboard

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

The death of Prince (Rogers Nelson) was a real shocker, especially falling on the heels of Bowie. I had to honor him with a Day Of The Dead tribute, complete with purple and paisleys. May he be dancing and strutting on that stage in the afterlife, there’s a party going on up there.

“Dearly beloved,We are gathered here todayTo get through this thing called life.

I had an urge to put my fingers to some collage, as it’s been quite awhile. This time I used only paper which I had painted myself, to ensure that the colors won’t fade as they might with found images from magazines. It was rather fun to return to my old love, am hoping to try some cityscapes with this technique in the future.

Every so often we escape to the woods out near Marin, California, which we are lucky enough to live relatively close to. There are awesome huge Redwoods everywhere and mossy growth in the winter and spring. It’s very relaxing to just sit and do small studies and watercolors of nature’s little beauties. The velvet moss on the side of this young seedling caught my eye.

“Oh redwood treePlease let us underWhen we were young we used to goUnder the redwood tree.And it smells like rainMaybe even thunderWon’t you keep us from all harmWonderful redwood tree.”

– Lyrics by Van Morrison –

Title: “Young Trunk” (a study)

Size: 7 x10″

Medium: Watercolor on Arches paper

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

After leaving a bar late one night during travels in Italy, I stumbled upon this alley with cool yellow lighting and a blue lit window. Had to capture this little piece of a cityscape the best I could.

Title: “Alley at Night, Florence, Italy”

Size: 14 x 18″

Medium: Acrylic painting

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

This painting inspired by the art of Andy Warhol and David Bowie’s song about him. (lyrics below) Reportedly, David was super inspired by Andy’s art and I like to think that if Andy were alive he would have painted something along these lines for David. This is a large piece done in Warhol’s stencil portrait style.

In his 2003 interview with Performing Songwriter magazine, Bowie explained that he had not met Warhol when he wrote this song and he got an interesting reaction when he played it for him. Said Bowie: “I took the song to The Factory when I first came to America and played it to him, and he hated it. Loathed it. He went [imitates Warhol’s blasé manner] ‘Oh, uh-huh, okay…’ then just walked away (laughs). I was left there. Somebody came over and said, ‘Gee, Andy hated it.’ I said, ‘Sorry, it was meant to be a compliment.’ ‘Yeah, but you said things about him looking weird. Don’t you know that Andy has such a thing about how he looks? He’s got a skin disease and he really thinks that people kind of see that.’ I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ It didn’t go down very well, but I got to know him after that. It was my shoes that got him. That’s where we found something to talk about. They were these little yellow things with a strap across them, like girls’ shoes. He absolutely adored them. Then I found out that he used to do a lot of shoe designing when he was younger. He had a bit of a shoe fetishism. That kind of broke the ice. He was an odd guy.”

Andy Warhol

Like to take a cement fix
Be a standing cinema
Dress my friends up
just for show
See them as they really are
Put a peephole in my brain
Two New Pence to have a go
I’d like to be a gallery
Put you all inside my show

Andy Warhol looks a scream
Hang him on my wall
Andy Warhol, Silver Screen
Can’t tell them apart at all

Andy walking, Andy tired
Andy take a little snooze
Tie him up when he’s fast asleep
Send him on a pleasant cruise
When he wakes up on the sea
Be sure to think of me and you
He’ll think about paint
and he’ll think about glue
What a jolly boring thing to do

Title: “Hang Him On My Wall”

Size: 30′ x 40″

Medium: Enamel spray paint and hand cut stencil, on canvas

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EXHIBIT NEWS: This piece, along with my two other Bowie paintings here – ( We Are The Dead and Ghost ) – will be in a David Bowie art exhibit – “Starman, A David Bowie Tribute Show” which opens on March 19, 2016, at 63 Bluxome St. Gallery in San Francisco. The show will be up until April 30th.

Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed (unless otherwise specified), please email me for info.

I’d wanted to do a portrait of Keith Richard’s wonderfully craggy, lined face for a long time and his 72nd birthday finally prompted its completion. Keith is a great musician and out spoken character, whose music has influenced me through out my life. Reading his recent autobiography “Life” was pure joy and fascination, he seems to have that immortal gene, as he keeps on keepin’ on.

“It’s great to be here. It’s great to be anywhere.” – Keith Richards

Title: “For Keith, 72 And There’s So Much More…”

Size: 12″ x16″

Medium: Gouache on wood, with collage, varnished

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

A nature study of the Northern California coastline in Mendocino county, one of our favorite places for a short getaway. The 1969 song (below) always pops in my head as we drive through the area and seems to echo there during our stay…

“Please don’t move
Please stay in my love house by the river.
Fast talkin’ guys with strange red eyes
Have put things in your head

And started your mind to wonderin’ I love you so, please don’t go Please stay here with me in Mendocino. Mendocino, Mendocino,

Where life’s such a groove You blow your mind in the morning. We used to walk through the park, Make love along the way in Mendocino.”

– Sir Douglas Quintet –

Title: “Mendocino”

Size: 12″ x 16″

Medium: Gouache/watercolor on Arches paper

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

A piece for my “Once We Were Here…” series, a beautifully forgotten truck stop, overgrown by the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere.

‘Til almost mysteriously
Well, it was the lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
Joe turned to me, said ‘I’m sorry son, but I’m afraid this is just as far as you go, you see
You see, I kinda gotta be making a turn just up the road a piece’
I’ll be damned if he didn’t toss me a dime as he threw her in low and said
‘Go on in there son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee on Big Joe’
I mean to tell you, when Joe and his rig pulled off into the night
Man, in nothing flat they was clean outta sight – Tom Waits, Big Joe And Phantom 309

Title: “Truck Stop”

Size: 12″ x 16″

Medium: Gouache on Arches paper

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.

A Frida Kahlo as a geisha, adorned and embellished with the botanical trappings she so loved. The character on her forehead reads “flower” and thorny curvy entanglements hang from her ears. A beautiful aloe plant spikes up in the foreground.

“I paint flowers so they will not die…”

– Frida Kahlo –

Many of Kahlo’s iconic self-portraits include imagery of foliage and flowers from her garden. In addition to her traditional Mexican clothing and jewelry made from shells, stones or bones, as well as her pet birds and monkeys, she frequently incorporated plants like “elephant-ear” leaves from the aroid (Araceae) family and white-haired “old-man cactus” (viejo), or other cacti and an assortment of flowers.

This is for my ongoing Geisha series, based on the premise – that the most literal translation of geisha into English would be “artist,” “performing artist,” or “artisan.”

Title: “Frida Geisha”

Size: 16 x 20″

Medium: Oil on wood

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Most works are for sale and/or exhibition and will be framed unless otherwise specified, please email me for info.